Editing Pete Townshend (section)

== Early life and education ==
Townshend was born in [[Chiswick]], West London, at the Chiswick Hospital, Netheravon Road, in the UK. He came from a musical family: his father, [[Cliff Townshend]], was a professional alto saxophonist in the [[Royal Air Force]]'s dance band [[the Squadronaires]] and his mother, Betty (née Dennis), was a singer with the [[Sidney Torch]] and Les Douglass Orchestras.{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|p=2}}

The Townshends had a volatile marriage. Both drank heavily and had fiery tempers. Cliff Townshend was often away from his family touring with his band while Betty carried on affairs with other men. The two split when Townshend was a toddler and he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother Emma Dennis, whom Pete later described as "clinically insane", later citing this experience as having unknowingly influenced the plot of ''[[Tommy (The Who album)|Tommy]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Friedlander |first1=Matt |title=Pete Townshend Shares Onstage Trauma That Occurred While Performing 'Tommy' with The Who in 2017 |url=https://americansongwriter.com/pete-townshend-shares-onstage-trauma-that-occurred-while-performing-tommy-with-the-who-in-2017/ |website=American Songwriter |date=April 2024 |access-date=18 July 2024}}</ref> The two-year separation ended when Cliff and Betty purchased a house together on Woodgrange Avenue in middle-class [[Acton, London|Acton]], and the young Pete was happily reunited with his parents.{{sfn|Wilkerson|2006|p=6}} His neighbourhood was one-third Polish, and a devout Jewish family upstairs shared their housing with them and cooking with them—many of his father's closest friends were Jewish.<ref name="The Secret Jewish History of The Who">{{Cite web |url=https://forward.com/culture/music/434550/whos-jewish/ |title=The Secret Jewish History of The Who |last=Rogovoy |first=Seth |date=12 November 2019|website=The Forward |access-date=6 February 2024}}</ref>

Townshend says he did not have many friends growing up, so he spent much of his boyhood reading adventure novels like ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'' and ''[[Treasure Island]]''. He enjoyed his family's frequent excursions to the seaside and the [[Isle of Man]]. It was on one of these trips in the summer of 1956 that he repeatedly watched the 1956 film [[Rock Around the Clock (film)|''Rock Around the Clock'']], sparking his fascination with American [[rock and roll]].{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|pp=8,12}}

Not long thereafter, he went to see [[Bill Haley]] perform in London, Townshend's first concert.{{sfn|Wilkerson|2006|p=8}} At the time, he did not see himself pursuing a career as a professional musician; instead, he wanted to become a journalist.{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|p=7}}

Upon passing the [[eleven-plus]] exam, Townshend was enrolled at [[Acton County Grammar School]].{{sfn|Marsh|1983|p=19}} At Acton County, he was frequently bullied because he had a large nose, an experience that profoundly affected him. His grandmother Emma purchased his first guitar for Christmas in 1956, an inexpensive Spanish model.{{sfn|Wilkerson|2006|pp=9-10}} Though his father taught him a couple of chords, Townshend was largely self-taught on the instrument and never learned to read music.{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|p=13}} Townshend and school friend [[John Entwistle]] formed a short-lived [[trad jazz]] group, the Confederates, featuring Townshend on banjo and Entwistle on horns.{{sfn|Marsh|1983|p=26}} The Confederates played gigs at the Congo Club, a youth club run by the Acton Congregational Church, and covered [[Acker Bilk]], [[Kenny Ball]], and [[Lonnie Donegan]].{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|p=15}} However, both became influenced by the increasing popularity of [[rock 'n' roll]], with Townshend particularly admiring [[Cliff Richard]]'s debut single, "[[Move It]]".{{sfn|Neill|Kent|2009|p=17}} Townshend left the Confederates after getting into a fight with the group's drummer, Chris Sherwin, and purchased a "reasonably good Czechoslovakian guitar" at his mother's antique shop.{{sfn|Wilkerson|2006|p=12}}

Townshend's brothers Paul and [[Simon Townshend|Simon]] were born in 1957 and 1960, respectively.{{sfn|Wilkerson|2006|p=7}} Lacking the requisite grades to attend university, Townshend was faced with the decision of art school, music school, or getting a job.{{sfn|Giuliano|2002|p=19}} He ultimately chose to study [[graphic design]] at [[Ealing Art College]], enrolling in 1961. At Ealing, Townshend studied alongside future [[Rolling Stones]] guitarist [[Ronnie Wood]]. Townshend dropped out in 1964 to focus on music full-time.{{sfn|Wooldridge|2002|p=136}}